A Prescription to Fix Financially Busted Cities

First, declare bankruptcy. This makes possible the next three steps. Second, default on all pensions. Third, close the public schools. Fourth, cap the property tax at 1% of market value. That was the limit placed on the municipal governments in California in 1978: Proposition 13. Voters in the state approved a constitutional amendment that tied the hands of city governments to loot the residents.

There is a fifth step: imitate Houston. Abolish all zoning. But this is not as important as the first four steps.